The present invention relates generally to infant care products and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly provides a portable diaper bag and changing table.
When away from home, a parent or other adult is frequently accompanied by an infant in diapers. Also quite frequently, the infant's diaper must be changed while away from home, in surroundings that are not equipped with infant care products. For this reason, most adults having care of an infant while away from home carry such infant care products with them in a diaper bag.
Diaper bags are typically fabric bags having various openings and enclosures therein for storage of infant care products, such as baby powder, tissues, baby formula, diapers, etc. Of course, as the amount of storage space in a diaper bag increases, its portability decreases. Thus, in designing diaper bags, a designer must strive to strike a balance between quantity of items transported and convenience of transport. In this regard, for commercial success, a diaper bag design must be "efficient".
Most diaper bags are designed primarily to store and transport consumables, that is, the baby care products which are consumed in caring for the infant while away from home. Some, however, are large enough to also carry a change of clothes, toys, etc. for the infant. Furthermore, some diaper bags are even large enough to store a rolled-up or folded pad for laying the infant on while changing the infant's diaper.
A number of diaper bags have built-in, or integral, diaper changing pads. Representative of these are the diaper bags found in U.S. Pat No. 5,265,289 to Swiger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,172 to Stevenson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,150 to Fitzsimmons, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,024 to Morton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,277 to Lim, U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,830 to Meyers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,194 to Hoover, U.S. Pat. No. 2,609,073 to McLaughlin, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,154 to Delligatti. Each of these attempt to enhance the convenience of the diaper bag by providing a platform and/or pad on which the adult may place the infant while changing the infant's diaper.
The above-mentioned diaper bags do not, however, solve all problems associated with changing an infant's diaper. For example, one problem not solved by the above diaper bags is the problem of unpleasant odors which escape when an infant's soiled diaper is removed. Heretofore, the person changing the infant's diaper has had to endure these unpleasant odors while changing the infant's diaper, and, if other persons are present, has had to endure some embarrassment caused by the other persons being exposed to the unpleasant odors.
While it is known in the art to ventilate mattresses and pads (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,400,790 to Tolen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,101,488 to Peebles, U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,168 to Holter et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,524 to Cook), applicant is unaware of any device in the art which draws air from above an infant changing pad, removes the unpleasant odors, and then exhausts the air. Applicant is likewise unaware of any such device in the art which is specially adapted for ease of transport with other infant care products.
Another problem which has heretofore gone unsolved is that of male and/or female infants urinating while their diaper is being changed. This occurs quite frequently, particularly for male infants, and is unpleasant and embarassing for the person changing the infant's diaper.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that it would be quite desirable to provide an efficiently designed combined diaper bag and portable changing table which is conveniently transportable, and which removes unpleasant odors inherent in the diaper changing process. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such a combination diaper bag and portable changing table.